And if anyone here is from their i'm sure you aren't thrilled about it.

Minneapolis, eh?

Where's the "strategery" in that? :lol:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060927/ap_on_...an_convention_3

Source: Twin Cities win GOP convention
By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer


Republicans have chosen the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul — in the politically pivotal Midwest — for the 2008 presidential convention, GOP officials said Wednesday.

The selection was expected to be announced later in the day, said the Republican officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The convention is slated for Sept. 1-4.

Losing out were New York City, Cleveland and a joint bid from Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla., other cities that had sought the convention.

The four-day event will be held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., home of the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild.

By choosing the Twin Cities for 2008, the GOP will ensure plenty of news converge in media markets in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa — all battleground states in the 2004 election and ones expected to be competitive in the next presidential race.

Minnesota had been seen by some as an unlikely host, with just 10 electoral votes and the nation's longest streak of voting for Democratic presidential candidates.

In 2004, Democrat John Kerry won the state 51 percent to 48 percent. The last Republican to win a presidential race in the state was Richard Nixon in 1972 and the last national convention happened in 1892, when the GOP backed President Benjamin Harrison in an unsuccessful re-election bid.

But Minnesota's national image as a traditional Democratic bastion has become outdated and the state was a hard-fought battleground in 2004 and 2000. Republicans hope to court voters in a region Republican and Democratic strategists alike say will play a critical role in winning the White House in 2008.

The Twin Cities, located along the Mississippi River, also are in the running for the 2008 Democratic convention. Democrats plan to hold their convention Aug. 25-28.

The Democrats, who last met in Boston, will announce a decision later this fall. A spokesman said 11 sites expressed interest in having the party's convention, but only four completed the proposals. New Orleans later withdrew its bid, leaving Denver, New York City and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The GOP held its last convention in New York City, a Democratic stronghold where GOP delegates nominated President Bush for a second term.

In Minnesota, the effort to woo a national political convention has been a bipartisan affair, with the two big-city mayors, both Democrats, joining forces with top Republicans. They argued that Minnesota is a critical part of an Upper Midwest region that combined offers 27 electoral votes.

State officials have predicted a national political convention would boost the Twin Cities economy by about $150 million.

Wouldn't it have made more sense to choose a battleground state like Florida, which was apparently in the running (St. Petersburg)?

One step ahead...Minnesota in particular, the midwest generally, is the next beach head for GOP

Every presidential election night, the blue states usually go across from the Northeast, through the midwest, over to the great Pacific Coast states. They are aiming to cut that cord.

To counter, the DNC should consider those cities on the list in the South or Southwest.

Heaven help us if they succeed . . .

On Daily Kos, the DNC is said to have narrowed down its choices to Denver, Minneapolis, or New York.

Why are we stuck on NY for one thing? Nothing against the great city, but haven't we gone there enough recently?

I swear sometimes I think the party has a death wish. Could the one party Washington talk be true? LOL!

DENVER?????? Let's hope not.

Well, if not Denver, then NY or Minneapolis, and since Minneapolis is taken already (do both parties ever both hold their conventions in the same city?), and NY has hosted recently, it looks like Denver.

An odd choice?

Not the worst choice. The Mountain West as is the Southwest is slowly, slowly trending blue. Seriously.

EM, why is it an odd choice?

I'm not bashing Denver because it's in a red state and I despise the Denver Broncos, which I do despise that team. I'm just thinking back on the past ten years. Colorado has been in the news quite a bit and if you notice it's all been bad.

Back in 1996, it was Jon Benet Ramsey murder, which is still unsolved and has been in the news again, recently. Then we had the Columbine disaster in 1999. Then we had the false rape charges against Kobe Bryant. And now another school shooting/ hostage crisis out of Colorado.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm bashing the state of Colorado, but I sure hope the DNC doesn't decide to hold their 2008 convention there.

There has got to be some better choices of cities or states that aren't always in the news for something awful.

I don't know, Nicholus. It just seems like they'd do better to have it somewhere that matters more. Nothing against Denver or Colorado, believe me. It just seems like there could be more important places to have it.

Where the convention is is probably not all that important. But off the top of my head I can think of a few places. Denver is not so bad a choice in my opinion. But how about:

Philidelphia
Chicago
Phoenix
San Diego
Atlanta
St. Louis
New Orleans

what do you all think?

:?:

I like Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Philadelphia, because of the symbolism of having once been the Federal capital (if only for a while), and for all the important events surrounding our Constituion that took place there.

Atlanta, for being in the South and closer to Gore's home turf.

Nix to New Orleans. It seems exploitative to me, although by 2008, maybe the city would be ready for the kind of shot in the arm a convention brings.

The mountain west and south west are blue states of the future I agree.

Gore took New Mexico, where Bill Richardson is governor. Arizona and Montana just got new Dem governors. Colorado picked up a Dem US Senator, Harry Reid is from Nevada where Jimmy Carters son is running for Senator this year.

Republicans may have a lock on Idaho and Utah ( well, not the mayor of Salt Lake City) but the rest of the Mountain West and the South West are stategic opportunities. That's why Denver may not be a bad choice.

By the way Gary Hart is saying some intelligent things lately, even if you don't find it on the front page

;)

The same Gary Hart who stupidly had his picture taken with Donna Rice sitting on his lap on a boat out in the Atlantic Ocean while he was running for president? He's saying/doing something intelligent?

Hard to believe.

I still feel Denver is not the right place, but how about these seldom mentioned places????

Berkeley, California
Seattle
Portland, Oregon

Philadelphia might be a good choice.

AGIML, those cities sound great, though I can see the MSM talking about liberal bastion this and liberal bastion that through the whole convention week, I suggested Pacific, Mountain West, and southwestern cities on this site months ago, but I guess the powers that be don't visit the GSC. ;)

Anyway, cities were invited by the DNC to make presentations to host the convention. New York, Minneapolis, and Denver for whatever reasons made the final cut. I personally think a Seattle convention would be great, but the city has glaring issues such as a convention center big enough to house the main events. I don't know if Key Arena has accomodations that the party would be looking for. (The new ballparks would most certainly have scheduling conflicts and the football stadium is not a retractable dome, I don't think) Portland would have many of the same issues such as enough available hotel space...etc

I would think a Berkeley convention would drain city services and besides why not have it in San Francisco then?

Any Bay Area city, Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco sounds great and one would represent the others as well.

But if it's down to Denver, New York and Minneapolis that doesn't leave much of a choice, since 'they' already have Minneapolis and I still say Denver would be a bad choice, so that leaves my birth state. Go for it New York. :clap: